The Jewish community in Baku, Azerbaijan, has welcomed the historic agreement signed in Washington between Azerbaijan and Armenia — a deal that ends decades of conflict and strengthens the strategic partnership between Baku and Jerusalem.
Rabbi Zamir Isayev, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Baku, said the move strengthens regional resistance to Iran and sends a message of peace and unity.
“It is no surprise that Iran is alarmed by the agreement and is resorting to threats and intimidation,” he noted. According to him, the agreement is a natural continuation of Azerbaijan’s policy of fostering connection, cooperation, and peace among nations and religions.
The accord, which also includes significant economic and strategic components, is expected to impact the regional balance of power, limit Iran’s influence, and bolster economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel.
On August 8 the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint declaration in Washington, agreeing to end one of the longest-standing disputes in the post-Soviet world.
The declaration was signed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The document stressed the need to move forward toward signing and ratifying a peace agreement already agreed upon by both sides. The foreign ministers of the two countries also confirmed the text in Washington, signaling its finalization.
The agreement is considered particularly significant for Israel, as it reduces Iran’s regional influence. For years, Tehran has used Armenia to advance its interests, including the procurement of prohibited materials, primarily for its nuclear program.
Jewish organizations worldwide and official Israeli representatives have worked extensively to promote the agreement, highlighting the longstanding strategic partnership with Azerbaijan — a Muslim-majority nation with no history of antisemitism and close ties to Israel. Among the proposals was to include Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords as an example of a Muslim-majority country maintaining friendly relations with Israel.
The agreement includes the construction of a transportation corridor linking Azerbaijan’s mainland to the Nakhchivan exclave, passing through Armenian territory along the Iranian border. American companies will lease this strip of land and build the corridor, previously known as the “Zangezur Corridor” and now named the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP).
Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned that Iran would respond harshly to any attempt to establish the corridor along its border with Armenia.
“Foreign forces, acting against the region’s interests, are trying to achieve their goals in the South Caucasus,” he said. “I remind all local and external forces that they have failed before, and any new attempt will be met with a strong Iranian response.” He added that the corridor “poses a threat to Iran’s territorial integrity and national unity.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry expressed “concern over foreign intervention along Iran’s northern borders,” according to the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report warned that the declaration could sever Iran’s land link northward via Armenia and said the US presence in the area is “another source of concern.”
“The significance of the Zangezur Corridor lies in its role as a key trade route between China and Europe. Iran seeks to maintain its influence over this path and opposes any settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia that would reduce Yerevan’s dependence on Tehran,” wrote Israeli expert Alexander Grinberg, a former intelligence officer, in an article for the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). He noted that the US proposal “triggered hysteria in Iran,” as even partial Azerbaijani control of the corridor would cut Iran’s land access to Europe and Russia. Khamenei himself voiced opposition to the idea back in 2022, warning against “any attempt to block the Iran-Armenia border.”
Grinberg added that “the Iranian regime is objectively weaker today. A deep understanding of the principle of Iran’s ‘united fronts’ may help counter Tehran’s threats on multiple fronts. The only way to deal with the Houthis is to make Tehran pay a price, and the Zangezur Corridor is one of the strategic assets the regime fears losing.”
At present, the only opponents of the agreement are Iran and Russia, both of which have lost their grip on the region. In the coming period, the two countries are expected to take various steps to try to disrupt its implementation.